Water Board Acts Today On Everglades Damage

Regional water managers are expected today to finalize a legal agreement with the Exxon Corp. requiring the giant oil company to repair a snaking swath of damaged Everglades.

The governing board of the South Florida Water Management District reviewed and amended proposed language for the contract which commits Exxon to a long- term attempt to reestablish the sawgrass habitat damaged in the recently completed construction of a crude oil pipeline.

The district owns about 10 miles of the 23-mile pipeline path which runs from Exxon`s Raccoon Point oilfield in Big Cypress National Preserve to another pipeline in Everglades Conservation Area 3A in western Broward County. The district`s property is in the conservation area.

The oil is piped to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and loaded on tanker ships for transportation to refineries.

In construction of the new line, heavy equipment repeatedly moved outside of the 40-foot-wide access section approved by the district and other state agencies. In some areas, the damaged area is 150-feet wide.

The proposed contract calls for Exxon to restore the area to ``the satisfaction of the district.``

Wally Palmer, Exxon`s project manager, said the company is seeking out the best experts in the restoration field and will do everything it can to put the area back like it was, ``if in fact it can be done.``

Earlier this week, the company started pumping crude oil through the pipeline.